When the weather’s perfect for firing up the grill, which foods come to mind first? Probably meat — especially good old-fashioned beef burgers and hot dogs. While meat certainly isn’t the enemy, your grill can do a lot more than heat a hamburger or bake a potato. There are so many fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients whose taste and texture improve significantly when grilled. Have you ever tried any? There’s no better time.

Before you cover up your grill for the summer, give these delicious and healthy recipes a try. You may not have thought to toss these ingredients on the grill, but they could become important staples for all your grilling endeavors in the future.

Health benefits of grilling your food

Grilling is obviously a healthier cooking method than frying. While frying involves actually cooking food in oil, you grill food on top of oiled grates — which doesn’t affect the nutritional value of what you are eating. But there are plenty of other benefits that make grilling a variety of foods worth your time.

Grilled vegetables are more nutritious than vegetables cooked any other way.

Reduced fat content of every food you cook (it pretty much just melts away).

Of course, healthy grilling does require that you start with healthy foods. A little red meat every now and then isn’t the end of the world, but if you’re grilling burgers every weekend, your freshly grilled diet could use some variety.

The healthiest foods you can grill

It’s easy to throw ground beef, steak, or hot dogs onto the grill — you’ve probably done it for years. But you don’t have to limit yourself to grilling only meat and potatoes. It can’t hurt to take a step back from red meat and try something new. If you don’t like the taste of raw vegetables, grilling is also a great way to sneak more fiber into your diet.

These are some of the healthiest foods you can slide onto your grill this weekend:

Romaine lettuce

Asparagus

Tofu

Avocados

Turkey

Chicke

Potatoes, white or sweet

Now for a few healthy recipes to try. There’s something on this list for everyone. Whether you’re craving seafood, a juicy burger, or you want to eat a vegetable that isn’t canned or doused in oil, there’s a healthy recipe here for you. Enjoy!

Grilled shrimp

Hungry for a healthy helping of easy to grill seafood? It turns out salmon isn’t the only fish you can toss onto the grill. Grilled shrimp — whether you use it as a side dish, incorporate it into another dish like pasta, or snack on it as an appetizer, provides both flavor and a number of health benefits.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp (serves 6)

Prep time: 21 minutes

1 clove garlic, large

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 pounds shrimp, large, peeled

Prepare grill to cook on medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate.

In a small bowl, combine garlic and salt. Mix in cayenne pepper and paprika. Stir in olive oil and lemon juice. Mix all these ingredients together until a paste forms.

Add paste and shrimp to large bowl. Toss shrimp in paste until evenly coated.

You can also use this recipe to make shrimp skewers, adding other vegetables to grill with shrimp for added flavor and texture.

Health benefits of shrimp

According to Organic Facts, shrimp is extremely rich in vitamins and minerals, low in calories, and completely free of carbohydrates. You’ll also get a healthy dose of protein and a very small amount of healthy fat with each shrimp you consume.

Grilling your shrimp is one of the healthiest ways to eat it. Many people turn to fried shrimp and other seafood, but as you likely already know, frying anything even in a lower-fat oil still isn’t the best cooking choice for your health. Grilling brings out shrimp’s flavor (plus the flavors you add to it) without breading and frying it.

Grilled zucchini

When it comes to vegetables, roasting, boiling, and even frying are common cooking go-to options. However, you can also grill vegetables like zucchini to bring out their natural flavors and add more fiber and other nutrients to your meal.

On lightly oiled grill (medium-low heat), cook zucchini 4 minutes on each side, or until it starts to brown. Brush balsamic vinegar onto zucchini and cook 1 more minute before serving hot.

You can serve your grilled zucchini as a healthy side dish, or create a grilled fruit and vegetable salad with mozzarella and herbs. You can also add grilled zucchini to balsamic seasoned pasta.

Health benefits of zucchini

Livestrong.com says zucchini comes packed with vitamins C and A, as well as other vitamins and minerals for optimal health. Like many other vegetables, zucchini also provides a lot of nutrition in exchange for an extremely small amount of calories.

Many people tend to stay away from vegetables like zucchini because they are used to foods with bold flavors. On their own, zucchini’s flavor might not appeal to you much. However, recipes like the one above allow you to add a lot of flavor to “spice” up your grilled veggies without frying them or adding too much extra salt.

Grilled “veggie” burgers

The burgers you know and love taste great, but they’re made with red meat — which you should really only eat every once in awhile. When you have the option, you should try to choose different meat, or use a meat substitute to create a meatless burger. They’re generically called “veggie” burgers, but you can make them with grains too, not just beans or chickpeas. You could just buy frozen pre-packaged meatless burgers and throw them on the grill, but it’s much more satisfying — and healthier — to make them yourself.

Homemade Grilled Quinoa Burgers (serves 4)

Prep time: 45 minutes

2 cups quinoa, cooked

1 cup cannellini beans, mashed

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 clove garlic, grated

1 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 whole grain hamburger buns

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, mashed cannellini beans, bread crumbs, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well until ingredients are moist, then add cheddar cheese and mix again.

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